


The Rink

by bustanut09



Series: The Shopping Arcade [1]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Soulmates, Tropetastic Tuesday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 03:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15282870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bustanut09/pseuds/bustanut09
Summary: Watch the tags.





	The Rink

Link couldn’t help but be a little irritated. He had told Gregg no less than four times that he needed to study but his roommate wouldn’t relent. After the fifth time hearing Gregg’s nonsensical “You know what you know” speech, Link had finally caved. But, that certainly didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. 

Link huffed out a petulant breath as he pulled the grey sweatshirt over his newly buzzed head. He still wasn’t sure he liked it just yet but he had to admit that his hair felt a lot healthier than the overly bleached locks he’d been sporting on and off since high school. He toed on his old vans as he did one last check in the bathroom mirror then slumped out to meet Gregg in the foyer.

“Oh c’mon, man. You don’t have to look like such a wounded puppy! It’s only one night.” Gregg elbowed Link at the sight of his dramatic frown. 

“Finals are in three days, Gregg! If I flunk out my junior year, you’ll be the one paying my mom back for all that wasted tuition.” Link tried to maintain his sullen expression but couldn’t hide the smile from his bright blue eyes. Gregg must’ve noticed too because he jovially clapped a hand to Link’s back as they stepped out the door of their new apartment. 

“I’d be happy to pay Sue back any way she wants it.” Gregg wagged his eye brows and Link made a mock gagging noise as they hopped into Link’s ancient red pickup. 

“Dude, can you not talk about my mom like that?” Link threw the truck in reverse and sped towards the small strip where most of the students spent their weekends. 

Gregg rambled on about the “lucky” girl he had spotted last week in his Anthropology class as Link wove through the overflowing parking lot. Apparently, she was the reason Link had been dragged out tonight and he wanted to hate her for it but, in all honesty, the change of scenery felt nice. As Link expertly backed his pickup into a spot close to the rollerskating rink, he realized he actually felt pretty damn good and he should probably be grateful for Gregg’s unsuspecting victim. 

They both hopped out and sprinted across the busy intersection to the crowd of students gathered on the sidewalk. Link had asked Gregg not to ditch him but as soon as he stepped onto the curb, he noticed Gregg disappearing into the sea of girls in front of the movie theater. Link scanned the long line of people waiting to get into the rink and thought it might be a good idea to just follow Gregg but then his eyes fell upon the most gorgeous creature he’d ever seen.

Link’s eyes travelled up the thin expanse of their long body, from the tall black boots to the blonde curling at their ears. ‘No, not blonde.’ Link thought to himself, ‘Golden.’ Link blushed in embarrassment at his own cheesiness when he noticed a group of girls staring at him and giggling. Link shuffled to the back of the line but he couldn’t take his eyes off the object of his affection. 

He was trying to will up the nerve to go talk to them but the longer he waited, the harder it got. Every graceful movement, every boisterous laugh, spoke to Link’s soul in a way no one ever had before. There was something in the way the light caught their eyes that reminded him of his childhood in Buies Creek. He realized it was like the way the sun caught on the ripples of the Cape Fear River when he sat alone on the banks. 

His mom had always worried about Link’s habit of spending hours by himself in those woods but he had always felt safe there in a way that he had never felt safe with his peers. He had always felt like there was someone with him, someone who understood him more than anyone else ever could. When he was a kid, he called them his imaginary best friend but the feeling never went away as Link got older. When he moved away for college, the phantom person disappeared and it almost felt like he was missing half of himself. For the first time, he had actually felt alone and he was genuinely convinced that he would never find that feeling again. He realized now that he must have been wrong.

Link was abruptly pulled out of his revelations as Gregg pulled Link’s head in for a noogie. Link pushed him away and roughly palmed the short tresses forward as if Gregg could actually mess up his buzz cut. Gregg mischievously guffawed at the indignant look on Link’s face before taking the hand of the petite woman standing next to them. Link quickly realized this must be the girl Gregg had been droning on about on the drive over and he smiled politely as Gregg introduced them.

As they all shuffled forward in line, Link turned back to see that the tall beauty was next and Link was quickly losing his window of opportunity. Link mustered up all of the courage he had inside of him and strode nervously to the front as Gregg shouted confusedly behind him. The world around him blurred away as he took the final steps towards his destiny.

“I like your boots.” Link called out. At first there was no response but a stocky redhead nudged the golden giant’s shoulder and pointed to Link. 

“What?” The booming voice shouted over the hectic crowd around them. 

“I said I like your boots!” Link yelled back a little too loudly. When their eyes finally met, the smile slowly faded from the calm green ones as they gazed into the hopeful blue’s. 

“Have we met before?” Time had seemed to stand still and Link knew this was one of those moments he was going to remember forever. 

“No, I would’ve definitely remembered.” Link crookedly smirked as he held out his hand more confidently than he felt. “My name’s Link.”

“I’m Rhett.” The golden man smiled back as he took Link’s hand warmly in his own and he instantly knew that this would be the hand he would hold for the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Watch the tags.


End file.
